Woman driving with tequila kills self, injures 2 children

Speeding driver causes head-on collision

son wasn't wearing seat belt

July 16, 2008|By Macollvie Jean-FranM-gois and Andrew Ba Tran Staff Writers and Staff Researchers William Lucey and Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

AVENTURA — A Plantation woman speeding along Biscayne Boulevard with an open bottle of tequila in her car caused a three-vehicle collision that killed her and injured her two children, police said Tuesday.

Donna D. Dante, 38, has had 15 traffic citations since 1988, including one for driving with an open alcoholic beverage container and five for speeding, according to state driving records.

Dante was driving southbound on Biscayne Boulevard, just south of Miami Gardens Drive, about 11:05 p.m. Monday, according to Aventura police. Police said Dante was speeding as she lost control of her 1997 Ford Thunderbird, sideswiped a Ford Aspire, then crossed the median into the northbound lanes, striking a Mercedes-Benz head-on.

Her sons, Vincent Cutrone, 7, and Christopher Cutrone, 5, were both hurt in the crash. Their father, Joseph Cutrone, said Vincent remained unconscious Tuesday afternoon.

"It's a tragic loss for my kids and right now I'd just rather deal with them," Cutrone said.

Dante died at the scene. She was not wearing a seat belt, police said. The older child also was not restrained and suffered critical injuries, police spokesman Lt. Michael Bentolila said.

The younger boy was restrained and suffered serious injuries. Both children were airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial hospital.

The other drivers were not seriously hurt, police said.

In the aftermath, traffic homicide investigators found the bottle of tequila near Dante, Bentolila said. They are waiting for toxicology results to determine if she'd been driving drunk.

"We see drunk drivers all the time, and we also see people driving recklessly and driving fast," Bentolila said. "The combination of having someone driving drunk or recklessly, speeding, and with the kids in the car, without seat belts on - it's not something you see very often. It's not exactly something we want to see."

Dante has been cited five times for speeding, once for having an open container, and ticketed for several other moving violations and refusing to submit to a DUI test, according to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Her license was suspended once in the 1990s, then reinstated.

Dante has had other brushes with the law that include an arrest for disorderly intoxication and battery on a police officer, which was later dismissed, according to state criminal records.

In 2006, Plantation police arrested her on a domestic violence battery charge, which was later pleaded down to disorderly conduct.

The New York-born Dante married Cutrone, of Davie, in 2002. Their divorce was finalized in April 2007.

Staff Researchers William Lucey and Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.